Microelectromechanical Systems (MEMS), which in general include miniaturizations of various electrical and mechanical components, are produced by a variety of materials and manufacturing methods, and are useful in a wide variety of applications. These applications include automotive electronics, medical equipment, and smart portable electronics such as cell phones, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), hard disk drives, computer peripherals, and wireless devices. In these applications, MEMS may be used as sensors, actuators, accelerometers, switches, micro-mirrors and many other devices. MEMS are also desired for use in environmental pressure measurement systems to measure either absolute or differential environmental pressures.
When designing a system that uses a MEMS device as a sensor, various attributes that may be taken into account include, for example, resolution and temperature sensitivity. Any ringing noise and energy losses caused by mechanical resonances of the MEMS device may also be considered. In some systems, such mechanical resonances may generate oscillations in response to an excitation signal, and these oscillations may have energy losses characterized by a Quality factor (Q). A higher Q indicates a lower rate of energy loss relative to the stored energy of the resonator, and thus mechanical oscillations die out more slowly. A lower Q indicates a higher rate of energy loss relative to the stored energy of the resonator, and therefore mechanical oscillations die out more quickly.